Chapter 26: Preparation for the Duel

A day and a night passed, and hundreds of new graves appeared in the desolate mountain.

Su Chunyi used sword light to cut down mountain stones to erect steles for the new graves, inscribing over a dozen names upon them.

Within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, only these dozen resentful souls could still remember their own names; the others had long lost their sanity through years of torment.

According to the confession of Monk Ku'e, the earliest batch had entered the Ten Thousand Souls Banner for nearly twenty years.

Besides proving that Monk Ku'e was utterly evil, this also corroborated that Monk Ku'e had nothing to do with Magistrate Cui's forced conscription of young boys and girls. Twenty years ago, Princess Hongyu had not yet been born, and Cui Xian was still a dilapidated small county town.

If everything was Monk Ku'e's conspiracy, why dig a pit in the desolate mountains and wild ridges? Hiding it directly within the city would be better, such as beneath a prison or near an execution ground, using death qi to mask death qi, making it even harder to discover.

According to Monk Ku'e's own confession, he did not often come to Cui Xian; usually, he killed and practiced his arts elsewhere. Naturally, a demonic villain who committed countless evils must stay far from his place of rebirth to avoid being wiped out in one go; he would only come once a year to fill the corpse pit and nourish the Evil Curse Spirit Child.

Who could have thought that Su Chunyi and Chen Ye would coincidentally find this corpse pit, and that Su Chunyi could even lock onto Monk Ku'e's location from three hundred li away?

One can only say that good and evil eventually meet their retribution; indeed, Heaven did not spare him.

With the new graves erected, Su Chunyi also carved the final line of names.

Su Chunyi looked at the tombstone and sighed, saying, "Perhaps someone will find this place, see this tombstone, and learn what happened. If it is the relatives of the victims, they will know their enemies have been executed and perhaps lay their grudges to rest."

Chen Ye nodded; this was precisely his suggestion.

Often, karmic retribution hinges on a single thought; perhaps one day in the future, this tombstone will unravel someone else's karmic entanglements, which would count as a merit.

After finishing this matter, Su Chunyi bid farewell to Chen Ye.

"I will take the Evil Curse Spirit Child back to Qinghe Sword Sect immediately and beg my master to save his life. As for the matter in Cui Xian, I entrust it to you, Mr."

This Miss is truly decisive; she just returned and is now leaving again.

However, she can fly on a sword; a round trip would take at most half a month. Chen Ye could use this opportunity to investigate the truth; he figured that by the time they met again, everything would be revealed.

Watching Su Chunyi fly into the high sky, Chen Ye was about to turn and leave when he saw a phantom of a green lotus blooming somewhere beside him.

Upon approaching, he found it was the sword case Su Chunyi had given earlier, along with a jade tablet.

Chen Ye was knowledgeable enough to recognize this as a message jade tablet capable of recording information.

Injecting spiritual power into it caused patches of light and shadow to project outward, forming the image of Su Chunyi.

This phantom said to Chen Ye, "Mr., your righteousness is great, willing to seek a path of life for innocent victims, but not all righteous cultivators accept the Ten Thousand Souls Banner; it is better to use it sparingly."

"I gift this sword case to you, Mr. The jade tablet belongs to Qinghe Sword Sect; if you encounter accusations from cultivators of other sects, simply show the jade tablet to explain. Most righteous sects will grant Qinghe Sword Sect a favor, sparing you much trouble."

"Please take great care, Mr. Let us meet again another day; I wish for both our cultivation to advance further."

The light and shadow dissipated, merging back into the jade tablet.

Chen Ye looked at the sword case and jade tablet left by Su Chunyi in silence for a long time until Mo Ci's voice came: "Stop overthinking, you little demonic villain. The deeper you entangle yourself, the faster you will die when your identity is exposed."

Chen Ye smiled awkwardly but said to Mo Ci, "Master, how could you not see my disciple's sincere intentions?"

Mo Ci:...

That tone made him feel that this rebellious disciple was about to spout some twisted logic again.

Chen Ye ignored Mo Ci's thoughts and spoke on his own: "My relationship with Miss Su is now very good; not only did she help treat this Evil Curse Spirit Child, but the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in my hand has even received certification from Qinghe Sword Sect."

Because this secret technique might save those resentful souls who have lost their sanity, though it may not necessarily restore them to life, it might at least barely sustain them. Chen Ye said that perhaps one day someone would create a method of reincarnation, so these innocent ones would not scatter their souls and spirits, but have a chance to be human again.

Such arguments are generally not believed; people would only think Chen Ye did not want to destroy the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and was a proper little demonic villain. But Su Chunyi believed him; she also felt that innocent commoners harmed by a demonic villain were already pitiful, and now to destroy them with one's own hands was indeed too cruel, so she agreed with Chen Ye to temporarily preserve these resentful souls.

Chen Ye said to Mo Ci again, "The resentful souls in my hand have already been whitewashed; I can even take them directly before the Sect Master of Qinghe Sword Sect and beg for his help. Miss Su has no idea of your existence, Master. If I were to say you were originally a resentful soul within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner..."

Hearing this, Mo Ci trembled and said, "I... I can also be revived by Qinghe Sword Sect?!"

Although Mo Ci had appeared indifferent when he scattered his cultivation back then, hearing now that he could still be saved, he was so excited he could not control himself.

Chen Ye comforted him, "Do not be too anxious, Master. My relationship with Miss Su is not yet good enough to make the Sect Master of Qinghe Sword Sect help restore your soul and spirit. Moreover, it is uncertain what that Sect Master thinks; what if he disagrees? However, this is at least a method; at least for now, there is hope."

Mo Ci quickly agreed, "Yes, yes, yes, you did very well. I will teach you some methods for dealing with women; you must capture this little girl."

Chen Ye's expression stiffened, and he refused, "Master, please spare me that."

Concerning his own life, Mo Ci suddenly became agitated.

"You rebellious disciple, do you think I don't know? You are of Pure Yang body and have not even touched a woman; how would you know how to win a woman's heart? You think looking good is enough; in the eyes of mortals, perhaps a woman would stick to you just by you snapping your fingers, but in the eyes of cultivators, appearance is unimportant; what matters is technique!"

Chen Ye:...

This old demonic villain is truly shameless for his age.

Listening to Mo Ci's rambling, Chen Ye let his words go in one ear and out the other; how could methods for deceiving women be used on Su Chunyi? It would be quicker to slit one's own throat than to try that and die.

Moreover, while clinging to a powerful leg was fine, Chen Ye was originally a demonic cultivator; he would only rub against it simply and dared not truly hold on tightly.

Cultivation ultimately still relies on oneself. Relying on others can only be considered an extra backdoor.

Chen Ye pretended to listen, lifted the white banner hiding Mo Ci, and hung it together with the black Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Mo Ci shouted angrily, "Rebellious disciple, what are you doing? Do you intend to refine your master?"

Chen Ye explained, "I cannot carry two long banners; having finally established a reputation as a hermit expert in Cui Xian, I must pay attention to my appearance, right? Master, rest assured, my Ten Thousand Souls Banner will not harm your precious body."

Mo Ci pondered, "Do you truly intend to investigate the matter of the young boys and girls?"

Hearing his master's tone was off, Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "Master, do you have any worries? Did we not agree to tightly cling to the powerful leg of Qinghe Sword Sect?"

Mo Ci lost his earlier excitement and pondered, "This matter is strange in every way."

Chen Ye said, "I also know it is strange, but when entrusted by someone, one must be loyal to the task. I have already swallowed the Condensation Qi Pills, saving over ten years of bitter struggle; I cannot simply spit them back out. Besides, Qinghe Sword Sect might have a return gift; not going would be a loss."

For an old demonic villain like Mo Ci, one cannot persuade with righteousness and rules; one must speak of benefits. The investigation must be done, but Chen Ye also understood the principle of self-preservation; he would first return to Cui Xian to see the situation. If there was truly a crisis he could not handle, he would simply tell Su Chunyi later.

This Miss Su was worth Chen Ye being open and honest; fabricating things would only ruin their friendship.

Hearing Chen Ye say this, Mo Ci no longer opposed.

The benefits of Qinghe Sword Sect were indeed hard to take, but if truly obtained, they were indeed a huge profit.

"Very well, you boy are smarter than me; decide for yourself how to handle it. Your master needs to rest, but there are three things you must listen to me on."

Hearing Mo Ci's tone change, Chen Ye hurriedly asked, "What are your orders, Master?"

"First, refine that sword case before wading into the muddy waters; that little girl has already left the refinement method on the sword case, so it should not take much time. Second, you must choose a spell to study diligently in preparation for a duel."

Chen Ye nodded; his master was concerned for his safety.

Dueling spells is the most perilous tribulation in cultivation; this time, capturing Monk Ku'e was half luck and half effort, truly a stroke of fortune. Should he encounter other cultivators in the future and a fight break out, Chen Ye must have a means to preserve his life.

"Very well, I agree. What is the third matter?" Chen Ye asked.

"The third matter: remember to wear a mask. With your current appearance, returning to Cui Xian will invite many unnecessary troubles."

Chen Ye:???